Olympic Games Tokyo 2020—The Official Video Game is one of the summer's most interesting releases.

Named after the Summer Games that were supposed to happen last year, this offering from developer Sega actually released in Japan on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 consoles—in 2019, in anticipation of the big international event.

With the Olympics shifted to this summer, the global release on all platforms has finally arrived. Adding to the layers of intrigue is the fact this is the first traditional Olympics game since London 2012, two console generations ago.

Despite all that buildup atop the pressure of being the lone gaming representative of an international event, Sega's big release manages to stick the landing.

Graphics and Gameplay

Similar to the gameplay, Tokyo 2020 straddles the line between realism and fun arcade-style.

This is a vibrant sports game with plenty of good-looking elements, from the expressions on the faces of athletes to the mannerisms they use while competing in events. The visuals for the crowds behind the scenes won't win any awards, but that's an area most sports games have struggled with, and what's there seems to fit the theme.

At its core, this is more in line with a Wii Sports-type title than it is Madden. Athletes aren't meant to be wildly accurate. Spaghetti hair can go all over the place, and it's apparent there are only so many animations to go around.

One wouldn't suggest Tokyo 2020 is a graphical powerhouse in the sports arena compared to annual releases. But some of the features deserve a nod. Each of the venues seem strongly recreated and the day/night cycle lends a sense of realism to the proceedings.

Tokyo 2020 has a flair for the fantastic, too. Mixed with the aspects of realism are arcade-like lighting effects on fastballs from the mound or when an oversized boxing glove decks an opponent's face. Basketball players can jump as high as Space Jam characters and in general, there's a cartoon levity to it all that is surprisingly welcome.

Gameplay itself is about what one would expect entering what is essentially a collection of sporting minigames. The basic button prompts and helpful hints make sure each one is accessible to younger audiences, which is a nice touch, especially for family couch sessions.

Sprinting, for example, is as simple as timing the starting gun properly, smashing a button and then accurately responding to a random directional prompt to finish things off.

On launch, events like baseball and boxing are hits. Baseball turns batting and pitching into a cat-and-mouse game in the strike zone as hitters try to chase which square the pitcher will throw the ball into. Boxing is even simpler, but properly blocking blows and throwing haymakers is a blast.

Not every minigame is as fun, though. Rugby seems like an outlier that should be a blast but falls flat—it just seems like a bunch of NPCs running around and randomly tackling with no great directional control over where passes go thanks to a limited camera angle. Basketball, while it has a 2K-style camera, has some RNG to it (characters can miss perfect shots, etc.).

Tokyo 2020 also throws in some noteworthy depth to most events. The button prompts are simple enough, but the skill to nail down proper timing and sequences will set players apart. On paper, that would seem to make for an interesting situation in tandem with the online leaderboards.

It all means gameplay falls largely into the expected column. There's a ton of fun to be had, especially if players can nail down their favorites and stay away from ones they don't like.

Modes, Customization and More

Tokyo 2020 doesn't hold back in the number of offerings available to players.

The full double-digit count is as follows:

It might seem like a lot, but it would be easy to see a game like this veering into overwhelming territory quickly if there were too many events. The list above strikes a nice balance between hitting on the critical notes and not stretching a player too thin.

Online co-op and competitive multiplayer makes the cut too, with up to eight players able to partake in a single event. We'll see how things hold up once users fire up on the servers from all over the world, but things seem smooth so far.

An underrated element for purists to keep an eye on is the droves of stat tracking found buried in the menus. Interestingly enough, there's even a panel that tracks medal count by country via the online servers, which—if a player cares about this sort of thing—makes it fun to contribute to that total.

Beyond the expected, Sega didn't slouch when compared to the laundry list of modes found in other games. There is a practice mode where players can run exhibition events against each other and even Ranked Games.

An extensive customization suite lets players pick from a number of interesting presets for style, physique and so much more. Players are also free to tweak abilities in different categories, tailoring athletes to specific events.

Despite being tabbed as the first traditional Olympics video game in roughly a decade, Tokyo 2020 isn't afraid of leaning into the silly side of things. Sonic the Hedgehog is in the game as one of over 50 different costumes players can choose.

Granted, purists who just want a simulation-type experience might scoff at having sumo wrestlers running sprints and hurdles. But nobody should blame Sega for leaning into the family-friendly, couch-session fun that makes games like Mario Party so popular. Players don't have to partake in the silliness, after all.

And that silliness is part of the fun. Call it a nice juxtaposition to the real world, where the Summer Games were initially delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and other sporting events are only just starting to open up to fans again.

It's also nice to see all of the unlockables in the game are free to earn during normal gameplay. These days that feels rare, but Tokyo 2020 rewards a player's time beyond the fun found in events themselves.

Conclusion

Like a skilled Olympics competitor, Tokyo 2020 walks a fine balance between accessibility for all ages and a skill gap that should make things competitive on online leaderboards.

While the tone is a little strange at times—this is the first realistic virtual Olympics game in about a decade but Sonic can compete—it's part of the fun and helps it grab attention and hold its own in an arena dominated by the likes of Mario.

Maybe Tokyo 2020, already a year old by name alone, won't have the longest legs once the real-life Games conclude. But Sega has insulated against that with a smooth set of online features and also written a strong blueprint for future entries to run with.